This will be a great opportunity for current students to meet and network with LGBT and allied alumni, and for alumni to learn more about the center and its work, our award-winning status as one of the most welcoming campuses for LGBT students in the nation, and our current LGBTA-themed student organizations and other offerings and accomplishments.

If you're an alumnus, things may have changed a bit since you were here as a student. I have heard from alumni spanning decades, and the experiences and campus environment for LGBTA students has varied over the years. The LGBT Center is but a small part of the long and very rich history of LGBT and allied students at Ithaca College. With the help of some wonderful folks at the Library and the Ithacan, we have been able to find references to an LGBT-themed student group on campus consistently all the way back to 1979. (It's the student organization currently called Prism, but it has had several names over the years including Gala and BiGayLa, among others). And just a few weeks ago, a researcher in our college Office of Institutional Advancement contacted me when she discovered a document from 1971 that detailed a meeting of 11 students who were interested in establishing an IC chapter of the Gay Liberation Front. These are all vital, but sometimes lost (or temporarily lost) pieces of history, and the LGBT Center wants to collect them so our current students can have a sense of this important history and the role of LGBT and allied students throughout the years.

I invite you to share your recollections and experiences of all things LGBT and Allied during your time as a student at IC. If you're joining us in person, there will be several ways for you to share your stories throughout the weekend. If you can't be with us this week, I invite you to share your stories right here using the comments function. And whether you visit IC this week or not, consider creating a short video and sharing it - upload it to YouTube and share the link via the comments section on this post.

Some suggested questions to consider might be:

How did your time at IC contribute to the person you are today?

Tell a story about your time at IC through the lens of LGBTA work/identity/community/climate. This might be something specific about a student organization, class, professor, or initiative.

Share a fond reflection of IC

If you were magically transported back, what one thing would you love to do or experience again at IC?